The embodiments herein relate generally to systems that produce a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen or any halogen.
Prior to the disclosed invention, pyrolysis involved some inefficient artificial heating source that required substantial energy to accomplish and was therefore inefficient. The prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 8,318,997 issued to McAlister; U.S. Patent Application Publication 2013/0068457 filed by Thach; and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2012/0312545 filed by Suryanarayana.
McAlister teaches a machine to produce petroleum from organic waste. The machine comprising, a mixer which can convert organic waste into a biomass slurry, a pump mechanically coupled to the mixer and a pipe which can push the biomass slurry through a geothermal heat exchanger converting the biomass slurry to petroleum and then to a flash tank system which can separate and store the petroleum. McAlister does not teach a second pump because it is not trying to move the biomass slurry through the strata layer of the earth, as a result a single pump provides sufficient head to accomplish this.
Thach teaches a method of making surfactants which is chemically similar to the existing process, but Thach relies on low-molecular weight alcohol to react with a bio-lipid instead of heat. This is a different way of accomplishing the known process of breaking down biomass into petroleum.
Suryanarayana teaches a power generation system comprising, a pump mechanically coupled to a compressor that can move a dynamic fluid through a geothermal heat exchanger adding energy to the dynamic fluid which can be used to turn a turbine and create electrical power. There is no theory on what the dynamic fluid is but typically steam or air would be used. It is unlikely that a biomass slurry would accomplish this since the heat of formation is too high for those compositions of matter.